1. Slice the Brussels sprouts using the thinnest slicing disc of a food processor. If you do not have a food processor, you may slice thinly with a knife or a mandoline.

2. Set a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium high heat and add the pecans. Cook, stirring continually, until the pecans darken in color and begin to give off a toasted aroma (approximately 2 minutes).

3. Add the butter to the pan and stir to combine.

4. Once the butter has melted, add the Brussels sprouts, salt and pepper and cook. Stir continually, until the color brightens and the sprouts are just tender (approximately 6 minutes).

5. Remove the pan from the heat, add the cranberries, toss and cool slightly while preparing the apples.

6. Chop the apples into fine matchsticks using either a knife or the julienne blade on a mandoline. Toss the apples with the apple cider and nutmeg.

7. Add the apple mixture to the Brussels sprouts, toss to combine well and serve.

Take his word on it. My family tried his method for making a Thanksgiving turkey last year and it was by far the best we have ever had.

As someone who can usually only make one thing in the kitchen — meat pasta sauce (an all-day affair I learned from the Italian side of my family) — I pretty much have to follow instructions to get anything else right. The simpler the better is my motto,

and Brown makes his tips easy enough for even me to follow.

The key is a piece of aluminum foil that allows you to cook the dark meat at a higher temperature without drying out the white meat. Brown, who will be returning to his “Alton Brown Live — The Edible Inevitable Tour” in January (he was recently in Cerritos and will likely be back), also offers a couple of side dishes we like: Apple, Cranberry and Brussels Sprouts Salad and Oyster Dressing.

TURKEY TIPS

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. After giving the bird a good canola oil rubdown, insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast.

Cook the turkey at 500 degrees for 30 minutes. (Brown likes to put his turkeys in legs first on the lowest rack of the oven.)

Apply an aluminum foil triangle to the breast. The trick is to cut out the triangle ahead of time and fit it onto the bird; so all you have to do is pop it on quickly and not mess around with a hot turkey.

Now reduce the oven’s temperature to 350 degrees and set the thermometer alarm to 161 degrees. (If you don’t have a thermometer alarm just keep an eye on it.)

A total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting should be enough for a 14- to 16-pound bird.

Once it hits 161 degrees, take the turkey out and let it rest, loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes before carving.

Don’t stuff the turkey with stuffing. Brown says cooking stuffing inside the bird increases the cooking time, which can lead to dry meat. Also, the uncooked inside of the turkey is a haven for bacteria. The cavity should be filled with herbs and aromatics to add flavor.

Basting is not necessary to flavor the meat, he adds. Each time you open the oven, you let heatout, which also can mean a longer cooking time.